Microbial and chemical pollutants on the manure-crops pathway in the perspective of One Health holistic approach

This study determined the impact of poultry and bovine manure fertilization on the content of antibiotics, heavy metals (HMs), and the quantitative and qualitative composition of integrase and antibiotic resistance genes in soil, groundwater, and crops cultivated on manure-amended plots. Antibiotic concentration levels were analyzed using the HPLC-MS/MS, heavy metal concentration level were measured by HGAAS and ICP-OES, while the integrase genes and ARGs were quantified using Real-Time PCR (qPCR) method. Manure, soil, and crops samples contained the highest concentration of Zn (10(4)-10(5) ng g(dm)(-1)) and Cu (10(3)-10(5) ng g(dm)(-1)) of all HMs tested. Manure-supplemented soil was characterised by a high concentration of doxycycline and enrofloxacin. A high abundance of integrase genes was noted in samples of manure (10(9)-10(10) copies g(dm)(-1)) and soil (10(7)-10(8) copies g(dm)(-1)). Among all the analyzed genes, sul1, sul2, bla(TEM), and integrase genes were the most common. Results of the study demonstrate the selective character of ARGs transfer from poultry and bovine manure to plants. The only gene to occur in all studied environmental compartments was sul1 (from 10(2) - groundwater to 10(11) - poultry manure). It was also found that animal manure may cause an increase in the HMs concentration in soil and their accumulation in crops, which may influence the health of humans and animals consuming crops grown on manure-amended soil. The high abundance of integrase genes and ARGs and their reciprocal correlations with HMs pose a serious risk of the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Moreover, unusual dependencies between integrase genes and selected ARGs indicate the possibility of changes in the mobility nature of genetic elements. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

The study determined the impact of poultry and bovine manure fertilization on antibiotics, heavy metals, and integrase and antibiotic resistance genes in soil, groundwater, and crops. Results suggest that animal manure may increase HMs concentration in soil, leading to their accumulation in crops and potentially affecting human and animal health. The abundance of integrase genes and ARGs poses a serious risk of antibiotic resistance spread in the environment.